Musical instrument.



Patented June 5,. I900. G. A. BBACHHAUSEN. MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

(Application filed Aug. 25, 1899,

2 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)-

INVENTOR ATTORNEYS PFTKRS co. wow-urns" WASHINGTON. u c.

I vention.

with any portion of the instrument, there UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GUSTAV .A. BRAOHHAUSEN, OF RAHl/VAY, JERSEY, AS SIGNOR TO THE REGINA MUSIC BOX COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

MUSlCAL INSTRUMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Application filed Au ust 25, 1899.

To all whont it may concern:

Be it known that I, GUSTAV A. BEACH- HAUSEN, a subject of the Emperor of Germany, residing at Rahway, Union county, New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Musical Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to music-boxes of that character wherein steel combs are employed; and the object of said invention is to render the tone of the instrument clearer than heretofore and to increase the volume of music by the aid of a simple, cheap, and efficient construction.

To this end my invention consists in the novel arrangement and combination of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 illustrates a rear view of a music-box embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the same on line 2 2 of Fig. 1, such parts being represented as are necessary to a complete understanding of my in- Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional View of the same, taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

The casing A of the instrument may be of any desired construction and is provided with a Wall a, which constitutes the soundingboard of the instrument. This sounding board or wall Ct preferably has the grain of the wood running in one direction, as represented in Fig. 1 of the drawings, and may be provided with binding-cleats 1), running in opposite direction or across the grain of the wood of the sounding-board a. The sounding-board is preferably held in place by a frame B, which bears thereon only at the edges and is secured to the casing by means of screws 0 or otherwise. A cross-brace (I may extend from side to side of the frame, but is maintained out of contact with the sounding-board, so as not to interfere with the vibrations thereof.

Each end of the bed-plate O is mounted upon a side wall of a casing, as indicated at e, and the bed-plate is supported in this manner, with both sides thereof out of contact being a space at each side of the bed-plate for the free passage of the sound-waves. Upon this bed-plate is carried one or more steel combs D. The tongues of these steel of the entire instrument.

Patent 650,891, dated June 5, 1900.

Serial No. 728,448. (IT!) model.)

combs may be vibrated by star-wheels f in the usual manner. Extending from thebedplate 0 to the sounding board is a bridge E, which, as will be seen from Fig. 2 of the drawings, extends laterally throughout the width of the bed-plate. From an examination of Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings it will be observed that this bridge is located directly back ofthe tongues of both combs, which are employed to sound the bass notes, and constitutes the only connection between the bed plate and the sounding-board throughout the length of the bed-plate or intermediate of the ends thereof. For this reason the bass notes are brought out with a clearer efiect than heretofore. One of the greatest drawbacks heretofore found in music-box construction has been the difficulty of rendering the bass notes clear and of sufiicient volume. By my present invention I overcome these disadvantages by a simple, cheap, and efficient construction and enhance the clearness of tone Having described my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is- 1. In a music-box, the combination of a bed-plate, a comb mounted on said bed-plate, star-wheels for vibrating the tongues of said comb, said star-wheels being mounted upon the bed-plate, a sounding-board and a bridge interposed between the bed-plate, and the sounding-board, said bridge being located directly in the rear of the bed-plate and constituting the only connection between the sounding-board and the bed-plate intermediate of the ends of the latter.

2. In a music-box, the combination with a bed-plate, a comb mounted on said bed-plate, star-wheels for vibrating the tongues of said comb, said star-wheels being mounted upon the bed-plate, a sounding-board and a bridge interposed between the bed-plate and the sounding-board, said bridge extending laterally of the bed-plate and being located directly in the rear of the bass tongues of the comb and constituting the only connection between the sounding-board and the bed-plate intermediate of the ends of the latter. 7

GUSTAV A. BRAOHHAUSEN.

Witnesses:

CHARLES E. SMITH, CLIFFORD E. DUNN. 

